by Denis Hall
Swedish insurance company Skandia have struck out into international property investment with an agreement to buy £400m worth of commercial development located across Europe from Reinhold International.
The properties involved in the deal are all at various stages of development. Five office properties in central London will provide 220,000 sq ft of offices when completed, and a site with consent for a £50m hotel adjacent to Reinhold’s existing Sheraton Skyline Hotel on Bath Road, Heathrow, is also included in the deal. No details are yet being disclosed about the seventh British site involved in the sale.
In Madrid, Skandia have bought 400,000 sq ft of offices. The six properties involved are dominated by the 215,285-sq ft SEAT office complex on the Paseo de la Castellana which is being redeveloped as 276,500 sq ft of commercial space.
The remaining five office schemes total 120,000 sq ft.
Another 100,000 sq ft of office space being developed by Reinhold in Lisbon, Portugal, as two buildings, has also been included in the sale.
Skandia’s acquisition was made possible only by the latest phase of Exchange Control deregulation in Sweden which permitted insurance companies to invest in foreign property.
As a 20% shareholder in Reinhold International, Skandia are familiar with the company’s performance. The majority shareholder is the Reinhold Group with 55%, while fellow Swedish property developers Hufvudstaden own 25%.
“The company has been building up an active and very profitable property development programme throughout Europe since 1987,” said Reinhold International’s estates director, Stephen Turner. “With the additional cash that will be available to the company on the conclusion of the deal with Skandia in the autumn an aggressive programme of acquisition and development is planned by the company.”
